American researchers said they had discovered a site in eastern Belarus where they could deploy the Oreshnik ballistic missile system, Reuters reported on December 26. The study's authors, Jeffrey Lewis and Michael Duitsman of Middlebury College and Dekker Eveleth of CNA Corporation, discovered the suspected site by examining satellite images provided by Planet Labs.

Zelensky said he was ready to put Trump’s entire peace plan to a referendum. But for this Russia must cease fire We are at the next stage of the peace settlement. We need to negotiate with presidents. We want to end the war as soon as possible. So I look forward to meeting with Trump on Sunday to discuss the framework for ending the war. Significant progress has been made. Many aspects of bilateral agreements between the United States and Ukraine have already been determined.

The United States of America is ready to provide Ukraine with security guarantees for a period of 15 years, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview with Axios on December 26. “I think we need more than 15 years,” Zelensky said. He hopes that US President Donald Trump will agree to this during the meeting on December 28. This would be a “great success,” the Ukrainian president said.

Sources from RIA Novosti and other pro-government Russian media reported on December 26 that St. Petersburg police stopped a meeting of the “pro-Ukrainian pseudo-religious organization” “School of One Principle,” which took place in the Admiralteysky district of St. Petersburg.

The portal “Kultura.rf” tagged “satirical” poems by Russian poets, in which they criticized the country and the authorities, and drew attention to the telegram channel “We Can Explain.” This tag appears under Osip Mandelstam’s poem “We live without feeling the country beneath us,” in which the poet criticized Joseph Stalin. It is believed that this work became the reason for the Soviet authorities to subject the poet to repression. In 1938, Mandelstam died in a transit camp.

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) approved the text of the prayer “for admonition” of those who want to have an abortion, the Moscow Patriarchate website reported on December 26. “It was decided: To approve the text of the prayer for the admonition of those who intend to destroy the baby in the womb,” the synod’s decision states.

You can subscribe to the entire series at once! Yes, yes, and yes again: Meduza, together with Zygaro, decided to release the complete works of Mikhail Zygar - all his books in which he tells the modern history of Russia, from the revolution of 1917 to the Putin era. And you can buy a subscription for the entire historical cycle at once. Throughout 2026, we'll send you a new book every few months.

Z-bloggers write about his appointment. The BBC Russian Service confirmed this Yuri Vaganov, a businessman and volunteer from the Moscow region without military education, was appointed commander of the unmanned systems forces of the Russian Armed Forces. This was originally reported by Z-bloggers. Sources of the BBC Russian Service in the Russian drone industry confirm this information. The appointment was not officially announced.

In Saratov, editor-in-chief Elena Ivanova was fired from the independent publication Glush Media, followed by most of the editorial team, said the general producer of the publication and Ivanova’s husband, Dmitry Kozenko. The editors believe that Ivanova was fired at the request of the publisher and Saratov businessman Arkady Evstafiev. The parties do not want to make the essence of their differences public, Nemoskva Says notes .

A Ukrayinska Pravda journalist met Timur Mindich, Zelensky’s friend accused of corruption, on a beach in Israel. That's what he said 90% of my business is a media case. The media has already made me extreme. Cool media attack. I don’t want to comment on the criminal case , because the investigation is ongoing and there will be a trial. I know Umerov and Galushchenko , but I never gave them any instructions.

Odessa has been living under continuous Russian attacks for almost two weeks. It is especially difficult for older people. The New York Times reveals how they're coping Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images View of Odessa without power after the Russian attack, December 19, 2025 Over the past two weeks, Odessa has been subjected to the heaviest attacks during a full-scale war, writes The New York Times. Russia continuously attacks the city with drones and missiles.

Five books about Russia Meduza’s editors enjoyed this year The news out of Russia in 2025 has been overwhelmingly bleak. As Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears its fifth year, the Kremlin has ramped up internet censorship, while courts have prosecuted a record number of people on treason and espionage charges.

This is New Year's “Prostokvashino” with Putin. We looked it up for you. Brief retelling New Year is coming soon. Matroskin the cat cuts salads. Sharik solves an online quiz, the main prize is a hat with earflaps with a garland. Uncle Fyodor's dad tries to decorate the tree, hangs a garland on it - and the tree burns down. He calls his wife and suggests celebrating on Red Square.

The agreement between Ukraine and the United States is almost ready, the issue of its signing depends on the progress of the meeting with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said. “In my opinion, I see now that the agreement between us and the United States is almost ready, and the question is whether to sign or not, in my opinion, this is the second question, depending on the format of how our meeting will take place,” Zelensky told reporters.

Russian representatives participating in negotiations to end the war agreed that a ceasefire was necessary for a referendum on territorial concessions to be held in Ukraine, Axios reports, citing sources. The publication's article is devoted to the progress that American negotiators have made recently. “We have reached the maximum possible with the Russians and Ukrainians. The progress in the last two weeks is greater than in the entire last year,” one US official told Axios.